Food Safety - Never Buy Fish or Highly Perishable Food Items on a Monday - 3 Quick Steps to Understanding Why
I like many Americans run my life on a specific schedule. Shopping is typically done on certain days of the week. Why the schedule? It provides a framework by which to strive for and accomplish the many demanding household tasks. To further aid in your structure, here is a new mantra for your weekly schedule for your household - never buy fish or any perishables on a Monday. Why you might ask? Because of food safety. Learn the hard facts and relevant numbers associate with food safety, understand why the human body is the perfect incubator of bacteria and learn the logistics of your local grocery store and restaurant. These facts may change your Mondays forever.
In understanding food safety, we must first understand when and where bacteria thrive. Secondly, we must understand the temperature of the human body and how it relates to bacteria. And thirdly, we must understand the operations of the grocery store. These three factors combine into one unified front that demands that we do not buy fish or perishables on Mondays.
Why is food safety important? According the the United States of America Centers for Disease Control, 3000 people die of food born illness each year! 128,000 are hospitalized and drum roll please - 48 million yes, million people get sick annually, this amounts to 1 in 6 here in the United States. These are reported cases - how many cases go unreported? And how many cases occur overseas? So you see, food safety is a major concern for anyone who serves food or consumes food. Are you with me on this yet?
Did you know the statistics of foodborne illness were so high?
CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne
— CDCFood Safety - What You Need to Know About Perishable Fish
Perishable Foods - Mushrooms, Strawberries, Fish
Food Safety - Be a Savvy and Safe Shopper
Buying highly perishable food such as strawberries, mushrooms and especially fish should never occur on a Monday. Buying safely for your family is important.
Learn the rules and the reason for the rules.
Be a savvy and safe shopper.
If the dollar savings mean allot to your family budget, then do this, use the perishable foods that same day - do not delay. Strawberries are great on Monday night, etc..but really should hit the garbage Monday evening. Same for mushrooms, fish and other perishable foods.
Learn these three quick steps to understanding food safety and you will remember to follow this important guideline and keep you and your family safe from possible food poisoning.
"Food Temperature Danger Zone"
Between 41 degrees Fahrenheit and 140 degrees.
Human body 98.6 Degrees Fahrenheight
Our human body is the perfect incubator for bacteria - why? Because bacteria can thrive and grow in warm places.
Step One: When and Where Does Bacteria Thrive?
Temperature
Bacteria thrives between 41°F and 140°F, a range of temperatures that's known as the "Food Temperature Danger Zone."
Alkalinity
Bacteria thrives in water that is near neutral - not too acidic and not too alkaline. Plain Jane water is typically neutral - a 7 in the scale of alkalinity. Most foods also fall into the neutral zone of alkalanity.
Step Two: What Bacteria's Preferences Mean to the Human Body
Understanding the characteristics of bacteria now explains why It is no wonder that food, especially highly perishable foods have a problem with bacteria. Add to these two facts the fact that the human body is 98.6 degree Fahrenheit and we have created an incubator for bacteria.
Not all bacteria is bad. But avoiding all bacteria helps us to effectively combat bacteria that can make us ill or even kill us. Yes, food poisoning is a nasty disease and it takes 48,000,000 illnesses per year and 3,000 deaths according to the Center for Disease Contol.
Food Safety Tips by Fine Living
More Food Safety Smart Shopping Tips
Buying groceries smartly and safely, a few quick tips:
- Do no overpack groceries.
- In summer months, always keep a cooler in your car and keep produce and dairy cold.
- Always keep produce cold.
- Always keep meat, poultry, seafood separate from produce.
- Precooked meals needs to be reheated to no less than 165 degrees.
- Seafood or dairy needs to be refrigerated immediately.
Avoid Purchasing Perishables on Mondays
Knowing the three elements of food safety - the fact that bacteria thrives on temperatures between 41 degrees and 140 degrees, the human body is a perfect host for bacteria in both temperature and alkalinity and the logistics of inventory control leaves us with the guidelines for avoiding perishables on Mondays.
Step Three: Understand Inventory Control and Logistics
Inventory found upon the shelves on Monday is more than likely inventory left from the weekend. Typically the last delivery is at the very latest sometime on Saturday. This means the items found upon the shelves on Monday were most likely from a Friday shipment. The Monday food items you are considering buying are 2-3 days old. For perishable foods, you have limited life left in the foods and at worst, you run the risk of food poisoning.
The same rule holds true for eating out Monday night. That fish special is not too special if the fish is three days old.
Be a savvy shopper, know what you are buying when. Remember the three quick rules for avoiding purchasing perishables on Monday.
Monday Food Shopping Savvy - Avoid Perishable Foods
I learned about this guideline of not buying perishables on Mondays direct from a high level manager from a regional grocery store.
After some follow-up research for this article, I see that Anthony Bourdain wrote about dining out on Mondays and avoiding the sale on fish in his book called "Kitchen Confidential".
Eating out Mondays is never a concern for me but I did once upon a time enjoy shopping for groceries on Mondays. My schedule of priorities has since changed - forever for the better.
Food Sanitizers Work Well for Perishable Foods
Foods such as strawberries and fish do well to have ozonated water sprayed over them. Note, we do not soak perishable foods as the bacteria can sit with the foods. We always want to thoroughly rinse produce and fish.
How does a food sanitizer help with perishable foods? It kills the bacteria. With an ozonated food sanitizer it kills bacteria (both good and bad bacteria indiscriminately) by what is know as cell lysing or an internal bursting of the bacteria cell. Cell lysing is the same process that Mother Nature uses to kill bacteria. Ozone itself is not bad, the ozone in the weather report is detailing the higher level of ozone combating various bacteria. We cannot measure bacteria but the weather reporters can readily measure ozone. Sadly ozone has gotten a bad name because of the colloquial use of the term ozone.
Food Safety - Food Poisoning - Always. Always Report It
If food poisoning does occur, always report it. It takes less than 5 minutes to report it and you may present many illnesses and possibly deaths. it is the humane thing to do. It may save a life and someday, a report may save the life of you or of a family member.
If You Become Ill From Food Poisoning
Step One: Phone your physician.
If it is an emergency, call 911.
Step Two: If you or your family members believe you became ill from eating a certain food, contact your local city or county health department.
Food Safety - Ozonated Water is a Natural Sanitizer
Ozonated water is used in water bottling plants because it is a natural sanitizer and it reverts simply to oxygen.
Unlike many chemical methods to kill bacteria, ozone has no residue.
Ozone is nothing more than a controlled thunderstorm. It is Mother Nature's way of sanitizing the plants. If you are a gardener, you know the distinctive smell after a thunderstorm - this is ozone and it sanitizer your plants and destroys bacteria helping them to grow more vigorously and stronger. If you value information about food safety, you must learn the facts about ozonated water.
Never Taste Food to Determine Its Safety
Sounds pretty basic but the rules are simple - when in doubt - don't and when in doubt when sick call 911 not your physician.
Share Your Thoughts
Did you know about avoiding shopping for perishables on Monday before this article?
Have you used a food sanitizer?
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and does not substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed health professional. Drugs, supplements, and natural remedies may have dangerous side effects. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
© 2012 Kelly Kline Burnett